Chapter 10: Everyone’s reaction

[Third Person's PoV] 

As Nathaniel entered the room, he found Vanya sitting on the couch, her head down, a hesitant expression on her face.

"Worried about telling the others?" he asked gently.

Vanya nodded. "A bit, yes. If what you told me about how they might react is accurate…"

Nathaniel gave her a reassuring smile, though it was tinged with mischief. "Well, I already called the others over. They're on their way."

"What? I'm not fully ready!" Vanya exclaimed, panic rising in her voice.

Nathaniel simply patted her shoulder in support. "Rip the bandage right off!"

One by one, the others began to arrive. The last to appear was Klaus, who, in his usual chaotic fashion, bumped into a glass vase and knocked it over. "Oops," he giggled, stumbling towards everyone.

"Heyyyy, Family~," Klaus greeted, swaying side to side.

"Klaus… why are you drunk?" Nathan asked with a straight expression.

"Drunk? Mua? No, no, why would I be drunk?" Klaus slurred, pointing exaggeratedly to himself.

He turned towards the others, huffing a laugh. "I'm so unbelievably drunk! Hahaha!" He then put a finger to his lips. "Shhh, don't tell Eight; he'll get mad at me, and we all don't want that."

"So yeah, I'm not drunk. Maybe… hic, ooh, sorry, maybe *you're* the one who's drunk," Klaus continued, pointing to the lamp Nathan was sitting next to.

The others just stared at Klaus in silence as he continued to ramble.

"Seriously, guys? I go away for a few hours, and things like this happen? You all couldn't keep an eye on him?" Nathan said, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

Allison scoffed. "We're not his nanny."

"Just fix him, will you?" Nathan massaged his forehead, clearly frustrated.

Allison rolled her eyes and turned towards Klaus. "I heard a rumor that you weren't drunk anymore."

Klaus immediately straightened up, blinking a few times as the effects of his drunkenness disappeared. He then froze as he noticed Nathaniel's stern expression. "Nathan, buddy! My favorite brother, how are ya?"

Nathan scoffed, but before he could respond, Diego spoke up. "W-Why the summon, Nate?"

Nathaniel glanced at Vanya, giving her a subtle nod. "Well, Vanya here has something to share with everyone. Don't you, Vanya?"

Vanya glared at Nathaniel, causing the others to raise their brows in curiosity. Allison let out an annoyed groan and turned to leave. "I thought this was for something important," she muttered.

"I have powers now!" Vanya blurted out, her voice urgent.

Allison stopped in her tracks and slowly turned back to Vanya. "Excuse me?"

"It appears I've always had powers, but our dad was scared of them because of their strength. So he lied about them and kept them suppressed by having Pogo feed me pills," Vanya explained, her voice steady but tinged with emotion.

"Do you seriously expect us to believe that?" Allison asked skeptically. But before she could continue, they were all suddenly overwhelmed with memories—memories from Nathaniel's perspective of Vanya using her powers.

"Holy fuck!" Klaus exclaimed, looking at Vanya in surprise.

He rushed over and hugged her tightly. "Congrats, sis! I always knew you were special!"

Vanya smiled, returning the hug, while Klaus looked over at the others with a shocked expression, shaking his head in disbelief. *"Woah! Talk about a plot twist! I had no idea she had it in her!"* he mouthed to them.

"That ability doesn't look safe… Are you able to control it?" Luther asked, his skepticism evident.

Vanya shook her head slightly. "No, not yet. But Nathaniel is helping me train and control them."

"W-What? Why are you only helping her? Didn't you say if I trained hard enough, I should be able to fly? Help me too!" Diego quickly interjected, turning towards Nathaniel with a mix of urgency and annoyance.

Nathaniel shrugged casually. "Sure, I don't mind."

Diego nodded, satisfied, then turned towards Vanya. "J-Just don't start getting cocky now that you have abilities," he said with a serious expression. His face then relaxed into a smirk.

Vanya, seeing his smirk, smiled back before turning her attention to Allison. Nathaniel's expression tightened as he glanced at Allison, sensing what might come next.

Allison noticed his look and, with a resigned sigh, clicked her tongue. "Well, I've always known she had abilities," she admitted, plopping down into a nearby chair.

"What?" the others exclaimed in unison, turning to face her in shock.

"There was a reason she was confident she didn't have abilities," Allison continued, her voice weary. "Our father made me tell her a rumor that she was just an ordinary person."

"What!?" Vanya's voice was sharp as she stood up, her expression contorting into anger. Her skin began to pale as her emotions surged, causing the others to instinctively back away.

Suddenly, her emotions were forcibly suppressed, and her skin returned to normal. Vanya turned to Nathaniel, her eyes narrowing. "Stop doing that."

"You were about to hurt the others," Nathaniel said calmly as he gradually released the hold on her emotions.

Vanya, feeling the rush of her emotions returning, fought to control her powers from surfacing again. She glared at Allison, her voice trembling with hurt and betrayal. "You knew as well? And you treated me like that? Like I was really something bad to stay away from?"

"I was only following our father's orders," Allison said, her tone defensive but lacking conviction.

"Forget our father! Aren't you supposed to be my sister? That's all I ever wanted—for us to be like sisters! To have each other's backs!" Vanya's voice cracked with emotion, revealing the depth of her pain.

Seeing the hurt and teary look on Vanya's face as she spoke, her voice filled with pain, caused Allison to lower her gaze in shame. "I'm sorry, alright? But like I said, I was only following what our father instructed. That's all. I don't have anything against you. Honestly, I'm relieved I don't have to pretend to dislike you anymore."

Klaus, sitting next to Nathaniel, leaned over and whispered, "Talk about drama. You know what would make this better? Popcorn."

"Really? Because I thought you were going to say beer," Nathaniel replied, giving Klaus a side-eye.

Klaus slouched back in his seat with an awkward expression, realizing he had said the wrong thing.

Meanwhile, Vanya scoffed. "It doesn't matter anymore. The damage is done. Some sister you are," she said before sitting down on the other side of Nathaniel.

Ben, hating the hostile atmosphere, tried to ease the tension. "Well, I'm glad you found out you have abilities. That means when we go out, we can properly show the world the last member of the Umbrella Academy."

Vanya's hurt expression softened slightly. "Thank you, Ben."

Luther nodded in agreement. "I'm also happy for you. This means our forces are expanding, and the Umbrella Academy is growing in power."

Vanya offered a wry smile, appreciating their support despite the lingering pain. "Thanks, Luther."